GIFT   OF 
MICHAEL  REESE 


LETTERING 

FOR 

DRAFTSMEN,  ENGINEERS  AND  STUDENTS 


A  PRACTICAL  SYSTEM  , 

OF  FREEHAND  LETTERING  FOR  WORKING  DRAWINGS. 


BY 


CHAS.   W.   REINHARDT, 

CHIEF  DRAFTSMAN,  KNMINBERINO  XKWB. 


OF  THE 


SECOND      THOXJS  A. 


NEW  YORK  : 
D.    VAN    NOSTRAND    COMPA 

1  s  !l  6 . 


-4 


T31 


Copyright,  1895. 
D.  VAN  NOSTRAND  COMPANY. 


E  P1  A  C  E  . 

IN  looking  over  the  books  on  lettering,  which  have  c.>mc  under  the  writer's  notice,  he  has  found,  that  while 
doing  full  justice  to  the  principle  of  ornamentation  and  the  theories  governing  the  shaping  of  each  letter,  no  autlior 
has  03  yet  attempted  to  treat  lettering  from  a  purely  practical  point  of  view.  The  need  of  a  practical  work  on  lettering, 
however,  has  been  and  is  daily  experienced  l>y  in. my  drafttuiub,  and  in  the  following  pages  the  writer  has  endeav  iivd  \» 
set  forth  the  projx>r  methods  ot  forming  purely  free-hand  lettering  in  a  simple  easily  acquired  wav,  giving,  .it  the  same 
time,  the  proper  safeguards  against  the  errors  mo.-t  commonly  committed.  The  letter*  exhibited  are  actual  free-hand 
work  and  can  readily  be  copied.  In  this  respect  the  writer  has  made  a  radical  departure  from  works  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter which  generally  give  ornate  carefully  engraved  alphabets,  being  of  little  more  use  to  the  average  draftsman  than 
ordinal  v  printed  ty|>e,  i.  e,  they  can  only  be  copied  with  a  great  sacrifice  of  time  and  patience.  The  whole  system  out- 
lined is  the  n  stilt  of  the  writer's  experience  during  \ears  of  practice  on  the  staff  of  a  leading  technical  journal  and  is  in- 
tended t,i  ]>,•  a  thoroughly  practical  guide  for  doing  the  best  class  of  work  in  the  shortest  pos-nlile  time. 


18J5. 


(.  >.  /-Ill  .  w 

.TJNIVERSIT-JT  CHAS- 


MCJNIVERSITT 


INCLINED     LETTERING. 


TN  the  following  system  of  lettering  no  attempt 
-•-  has  been  made  to  imitate  any  special  form  of 
printed  alphabet,  and  for  all  ornate  and  elaborate  letter- 
ing the  draftsman  is  referred  to  some  one  of  the  many 
published  collections  of  this  character.  What  is  here 
intended  is  to  illustrate  and  describe  a  type  of  lettering 
that  looks  well  upon  working  drawings ;  is  reduced  to 
its  simplest  form  ;  one  that  is  rapidly  made  and  is  clear 
and  distinct  under  almost  any  reduction  by  photography. 
It  is,  in  fact,  especially  designed  for  photo-reproduction. 
With  the  purpose  of  fairly  treating  'the  subject,  the  let- 
tering hen;  illustrated  has  been  reproduced  without  any 
attempt  at  touching  up  or  cleaning  ;  it  is  actual  free- 
hand work,  such  as  should  be  used  in  general  practice. 
The  ordinary  slanting  and,  further  on,  the  upright 
lettering  are  described  in  a  somewhat  detailed  man- 
ner, as  when  the  draftsman  once  becomes  proficient 


in  forming  these  two  types  properly,  it  will  then  be  a 
very  easy  matter  for  him  to  form  also  the  more  orna- 
mental letters  satisfactory.  The  first  requisite  is  to 
produce  sharp,  clean  corners  and  bold  lines  of  uniform 
strength,  and  this  is  especially  necessary  in  work  for 
photo- reproduction,  as  usually  such  unimportant  looking 
things  as  filled-in  corners  and  uneven  lines  are  greatly 
exaggerated  on  the  plate.  In  Fig.  i  the  correct  and  in- 
correct ways  of  doing  this  are  shown.  It  will  be  well 
at  first,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  clean  convrs,  to  re- 

One  Stroke  Lettering    7'.  ,'"  "":  arfc':.  of 

Incorrect.  -'         slightly  curving  the  lines 

One  Stroke  Lettering    "Awards  at  their  ends,  as 

Correct  exhibited  on  the  third  line 

One  Stroke  Lettering  »f  i;ig.  i .  For  very  iarge 

Fig.  1.  letters  the  writer  finds  a 

"ball-point"  pen  most  satisfactory  ;  for  medium  sized  let- 


ters,  not  less  than  2  millimeters  high,  he  uses  Soen- 
necken's  No.  108,  and  for  small-sized  letters,  Gillott's 
No.  303,  or  Blanzy,  Poure  &  Co.'s  crow  quill  pen.  All 
of  these  pens  should  be  "  broken-in  "  somewhat  before 
being  applied  to  lettering.  As  to  the  type  of  lettering 
to  be  employed,  the  slanting  letter  is  well  adapted  to 
descriptive  matter,  dimensions,  etc.,  while  the  upright 
letter  will  contrast  well  with  the  former  type  used  as 
reference  letters  or  sub-captions.  A^  uniform  pressure- 
should  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  pen — a  trick  only  ac- 
quired by  practice.  The  pen  should  be  held  pointed 
forward,  as  in  ordinary  writing,  and  not  sideways,  as  in 
"  round  writing."  In  lettering  on  tracing  linen  a  sheet 
of  black  cross-section  paper  divided  to  millimeters,  such 
as  given  on  detached  plate  (IX),  accompanying  this 
book,  will  be  found  useful  for  giving  the  proper  spacing, 
slant,  etc.  On  drawing  paper,  pencil  lines  will  be  indis- 
pensable to  the  beginner. 

A  slope  of  i  to  2  y2  »is  sufficient  for  the  stems  or 
down-strokes  of  the  lettef^and  or/linarily  an  angle  of  45° 
with  the  horizontal  will  suffice  for  the  up-strokes  and  the 
axes  of  ellipses,  excepting  that  of  the  letter  "  o."  The 
latter  angle  will  have  to  be  increased,  of  course,  when  the 


lettering  is  compressed,  as  shown  in   Fig.  2.      In  lower 
case  letters,  like  "  b  "  or  "p,"  with  parts  extending  above 
!\  or  below  the   main    body 

=£=  of  the  letter,  the  length  of 
--  \hese  parts  should  be  about 
j  2-5  the  total  height ;  the 
body  of  the  letter  repre- 
senting 3  parts  of  the  total 


hi  I    /   i" 


Fig  2. 


height.  The  exception  is  the  lower  case  "  t,"  which  is 
one  part  less  in  total  height  than  "  b  "  or  "  h,"  for  exam- 
ple. In  the  illustrations  following  the  incorrect  forms  of 
letters,  as  being  constantly  observed  by  the  writer,  are 
shown  in  brackets,  and  the  correct  method  of  forming 
each  letter  is  shown  beneath. 

Lower  Case  Letters. 

The  letters  "  n ''  and  "  m,''  Fig.  3,  should  be  made 
/  with  almost  sharp  upper 

—  corners;  "u"'  is  best 
formed  b)'  three  strokes, 
as  in  this  way  parallel 
positions  are  secured  for 


Fig    3. 


the  straight  lines,  which  should  be  made  first,  and  these 


can   !•<•   then   join,-,!   by  .1  lower  curve.       In  forming  the 
letter  "v,"    1-ig.  4.  make   tlie  first  stroke   nearly  vertical 

/     i===     /.__!      aru'   tnr   *<•<•«  >nd   at   an  angle  of 
V  (YJ     Y\f   f  W/     akout  45o    witn    the   horizontal. 

ij'X'  .\/\-/~  ''lr    ''""I'll""    error    in    making 

this  letter  lies  in  curving  tin-  two 
lines  and    giving  the   letter    the 

appearance  of  a  "  y."  The  letter  -  w  "  is  formed  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  "  v."  In  putting  in  the  short  hori- 
xontal  cross-line  of  the  "t,"  Fig.  5,  great  care  should  be 
taken  to  use  very  little  pressure  upon  the  pen,  as  other- 
wise the  ink  will  spread  at  the  intersection  of  the  two 
lines  and  make  clean 
corners  impossible. 

The    second    part    of  p.(      c 

the  letter  "r"  should  be  purely  an  up-stroke.  slightly 
curved  at  its  end.  In  making  the  letter  "  f."  start  with 
a  curve  extending  down  about  one  space;  the  -f"  shown 
in  brackets  would  come  out  with  a  heavy  black  knob 

i-    ,    f,  .-  —  at  top  iri  any  consider  able  re- 

t 
/=  Auction.     The  rule  laid  down 

for  forming  the;  "  n  "  may  also 


t  I 


Fig   6. 


for  the  "j"  is  practically  the  same  as  for  the   ••  f"  revers- 
ed.     Make  bold,  oblong  dots  over  the  ••  i  "  and  "  j." 
The  third  stroke  of  the  letter  "k."  Fig.  7.  should  l>e 

i/,  vertical  and  begin  at  aboutt  he 

K  t    X    \  Jf  t 

middle    of  the    second    stroke. 

Fig.  7.  In  constructing  the  letter  "x," 

care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  first  stroke  either  verti- 
cal or  leaning  slightly  l>ackwanls.  and  the  second  stroke 
ought  to  cross  the  first  a  little  above  its  centre  ;  in  order 
to  produce  a  clean  intersection  it  may  be  well  to  make 
the  latter  stroke  in  two 
parts.  The  letter  "y," 
Fig.  8,  should  be  drawn 
on  the  lines  of  the  "  v," 


Fig.  8. 


7 


applied  to  the  letter  ••h."  l-'j-.  6,  and  the;  down-stroke 


and  from  the  point  of  the  angle  the  tail  should  be  drawn 
in  exact  line  with  the  upper  down-stroke,  terminating,  if 
desired,  in  a  slight  curve  to  the  left  to  avoid  the  little  blot 
of  ink  which  would  otherwise  form  at  the  bottom    of  the 
stroke.     In  this  letter  the  second  stroke  may  be  modified 
as  shown.     The  "  z "  is  best  drawn  in  one  stroke,  stop- 
ping the  pen  every  time  before  changing  direction.     Tin- 
letter  "o,"   Fig.  9,  is  produced  by  two  curved  strol 
with  their  ends  sufficiently  bent,  forming  a  perfect  elli] 


'V^ 
.RSITT, 


the  axis  of  which  lies  in  the  direction  of  the  down-stroke. 
The  joining  of  these  two  curves,  in  this  and  similar  let- 
ters, can  be  effected  very  neatly  after  a  little  practice. 

The  ovals  of  the  following  letters  should  be  made 
somewhat  narrower  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  for 
obvious  reasons ;  and  especial  care  must  be  taken  to 
have  the  axis  of  these  ovals  lie  at  an  angle  of  45°  with 
the  horizontal.  For  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  width 
of  the  enclosed  space  at  the  bottom  of  the  clown-stroke 
and  the  oval,  the  right-hand  curve  should  be  somewhat 
flatter  than  the 


opposite  one. 
For  the  advan- 
tages of  so  doincf 

c>  c> 

see   Fig.   9.       In 


Fig.  9. 


'<* 


these  letters  the  down-stroke  should  be  at  exactly  the 
proper  angle,  rather  increasing  this  angle  at  the  begin- 
ning, for  the  learner  almost  invariably  makes  the  mistake 
of  drawing  this  stroke  too  slanting.  To  further  guard 
against  this  error,  the  beginner  may  slightly  curve  the 
end  of  the  down-stroke  towards  the  left,  thus  widening 

the  angle  at  the  bottom  of  the  "a"  and  "d,"  and  the  down- 
V  •• 

stroke  of  the  "g"  should  be  made  as  long  as  possible  in  its 


straight  part  by  turning  very  short  with  the  lower  left- 
hand  curve.  The  letters  "p"  and  "b,"'  Fig.  10,  should 
be  shaped  exactly  as  in-  . 

verted  letters  "d"and     -  GJ  (a)  EFtiHOl  D  0  /-&} '" 

-     /          /        1       /  / 

11  q.  "        With    practice  ,/ 

r_  ~^tf$7~~  -ifji  -  ••  *y^j  ^^~ 

these    letters    can    also  r          ri*~ 

be  made  to  look  well  by  Fig.  10. 

using  the  oval  of  the  letter  "  o." 

The  letter  "  c,"  Fig.  u,  is  formed  with  one  stroke, 
care  being  taken  to  have  its  general  direction  parallel  to 
the  down-stroke.  The  "e"  is  commenced  in  the  same 
way,  and  the  upper  loop  is  formed  by  a  second  stroke 

with  the  axis  of  the  loop 
again  at  an  angle  of  45°. 
The    beginning   of  the 
"  s  "  is  a  very  short  curve 
from    left    to   right  at   its 
apex  ;  the  rest  is  carefully  joined  on,  turned  down  into 
a  neat  ogee  curve  and  finished  by  a  little  crook  upwards. 
The  middle  part  of  this  letter  should  be  nearly  horizontal. 
If  a  very  narrow  letter  is  to  be  produced,  it  may  be 
constructed  with  one  stroke  and  a  flatter  curve,  making 
the  l»>er  curve  somewhat  shorter  than  the  lower  one. 


11- 


^ 
^UNIVERSITY; 


In  tin-  ordinary  letter  a  first  separate  stroke  at  the  top  is 
in, ulr  necessary  l>y  the  fact,  that  while  turning  in  ;i  hori- 
xontal  ilircction  from  right  to  left  anil  then  descending 
into  the  ogee  curve,  the  pen  will  either  clog  up  and  not 
give  tlu;  required  strength  of  line  at  one  stroke  or  other- 
wise will  in  turning  detach  minute  particles  of  paper  or 
tracing-cloth  saturated  with  ink  and  deposit  them  at  the 
side  of  the  stroke,  necessitating  erasures.  The  method 
outlined  (employing  two  strokes)  is  therefore  by  far  the 
simplest  and  quickest  way  of  producing  a  clean  letter,  as 
experience  will  show.  It  will  at  first  be  a  somewhat 
difficult  matter  to  the  beginner  to  lay  the  main  axis  of 
tliis  letter  parallel  with  the  down-stroke,  but  this  is  never- 
theless an  essential  point  and  should  not  be  lost  sight  of. 

Capital  Letters. 

As  in  the  rule  laid  down  for  the  lower  case  letters, 
the  capital  letters  will  generally  be  five  spaces  high. 
Sharply  defined,  clean  corners  are  again  necessary,  and 
to  secure  this  the  beginner  may  find  ii  advantageous  to 
curve  the  upper  and  lower  ends  of  the  down-strokes  a 
little  outwards.. 


The  letter  "A,"  Fig.  12,  should  lie  made  in  three 
strokes,  with  the  second  almost  vertical.  The  cross- 
stroke  should  be  placed  low  — .  .—,  -.—  ,-  ._,_, 

— about    the    middle    of   the     Adi)    L(L)    f~    (H 

'A1          I-          JC' 

second  space  from  tin-  bot-   ,_M  (LL!          7 

torn.  The     short    third  Fig.  12. 

stroke  of  the  "  K''  should  be  slightly  above  the  renter 
of  the  letter,  and  should  not  be  ton  short.  The  two 
down-strokes  of  the  letter  ••  H, '  Fig.  13.  should  be  ex- 
actly parallel,  and  the  horizontal  stroke  should  be  made 
as  directed  for  the  third  stroke  of  the  "  K."  If  the  capi- 
tal "  I  "  is  to  be  followed  by  a  lower  case  "  1,"  two  short 
horizontal  strokes  of  even  length  and  projection  may  be 

added  t"  the  top  and 
bottom.  The  second 
stroke  of  the  letter 
••  K "  should  join  the 


H(Hi  11(1)  K(K) 

i: 


Fig.    13. 

first  at  the  top  of  the  second  space  from  the  bottom,  and 
the  third  stroke  should  join  the  second  nearly  one  sjjace 
higher  up.  The  letter"  L  "  can  easily  be  made  with  one 
stroke,  analogous  to  the  forming  of  the  same  stroke  of 
the  letter  •  K.  " 

The  "}."   Fig.     14.    is    commenced    as    a    perfectly 


straight  down-stroke  to  the  top  of  the  lower  space  ;  then 
it  turns  to  the  left  in  a  gentle  curve,  tangent  to  the  base 
line,  and  finally  rises 

r  /    -      -    IS  n  M(M}  kl/M)  TIT} 

to  the  top  ot  the  first      tV  fc//  /'I  \  tyt/  I V  I  /If/  /  f  i  r 

space.     The  "M"  is  \-^Tt         j/itf/j       V^y*          ^ 
made  with  four  separ-  Fig.  14. 

ate  strokes,  putting  in  the  two  parallel  lines  first ;  the  two 
other  strokes  should  join  at  the  top  of  the  first  space.  If 
desired,  this  letter  may  be  made  slightly  wider  at  the 
bottom  than  at  the  top.  The  letter  "  N"  is  also  formed 
by  drawing  the  two  parallel  strokes  first.  The  horizon- 
tal stroke  of  the  "T"  should  be  neatly  balanced  on  top 
of  the  down-stroke,  and  if  it  is  not  perfectly  straight,  as 
often  is  the  case,  a  hardly  noticeable  crook  downwards 

.  at  both  ends   will 

^JT; ' (~7_)      impro\*t  it. 

-7  The    letters 

shown  in  Fig.  i5 
are  to  be  con- 
structed precisely  upon  the  lines  laid  down  for  the  cor- 
responding lower  case  letters,  with  the  exception  that 
they  should  be  a  trifle  narrower  in  proportion.  The  "  Y  " 
is  formed  with  two  strokes  without  any  lower  crook  to 


^s 

Fig.    1 5 


the  left ;  the  "  Z  "  is  made  in  one  stroke,  with  the  axis 
of  the  letter  in  the  direction  of  the  clown-stroke.  If 
found  easier,  this  "  Z  "  can  be  made  with  three  strokes. 
With  practice  the  letters  "  P,"  "  B  "  and  "  D  "  can  each 
be  formed  with  two  strokes,  with  the  curves  terminating 
as  shown.  In 

-n  /HI  r>  /ni   n/nt  £>/£>)  II  fllY- 

forming  the  I  \  ff~  D  ( £3/  JJ I  Lf/  l~\  ff\/  U  i  U/  '• 
two  curves  of  ffi*  ^ 

the  letter''  B," 

begin    at    the  Fig'  |6> 

top,  and  after  joining  the  stem,  return  exactly  on  the 
horizontal  while  the  ink  is  yet  moist  and  complete  the 
lower  curve.  The  space  enclosed  by  the  lower  curve 
should  be  somewhat  larger  than  that  in  the  upper  one. 
The  curve  of  the  "  D"  should  be  parallel  with  the  down- 
stroke  in  its  middle  third,  but  it  may  sometimes  be  ad- 
visable to  make  the  lower  part  of  the  "  D  "  a  shade  wider 
than  the  upper  part.  The  first  and  second  strokes  of  the 
"  R "  are  identical  with  the  letter  "  P." 

The  "C,"  Fig.  17,  is  formed  with  one  stroke,  nearly 
completiag  the  ellipse  of  the  letter  ''  O,"  though  this  let- 
ter should  be  proportionately  narrower  than  the  lower 
case  "c."  In  making  the  "  G,"  a  somewhat  wider  ellipse 


is  required,  and  this  letter  is  most  easily  made  with  two 
strokes;  the  second  horizontal  stroke  should  be  about 

one-half  of  the 
total  width  of  the 
ellipse.     The; 
F'g-  >7-  capital   "O" 

should  be  an  almost  perfect  ellipse,  special  can- 
being  taken  in  joining  the  two  curves.  The  third  stroke 
of  the  "  Q  "  should  begin  about  the  middle  of  the  second 
space,  and  extend  one  space  below  the  base.  The  letter 
"  S  "can  be  formed,  for  small-sized  lettering,  in  two  strokes, 
or  with  an  additional  stroke,  as  shown,  for  larger 
letters. 

Numerals. 

As  a  rule,  numerals  should  occupy  the  sam^ieight 
as  capital  letters,  or  five  spaces,  though  the  use  offrac- 

//    A.  '4.    "7/7'   ?  /  7y  ?     li";i~:"-i'  jlighd} 

_*^  modify    this    rule. 

-    '  f  \J        U     ~.  When    the    num- 

Fig    1 8.  eral  "  l,"  Fig.  iS. 

is  used  in  proximity  with  "  I  "  or  "1,"  it  is  well  to  use  a 


short  up-stroke  at  the  top  ;  otherwise,  it  may  be  repre- 
sented by  a  simple  down-stroke.  The  "4  "  is  commenc- 
ed with  tin-  stroke  inclined  at  an  angle  of  45°,  terminat- 
ing at  the  second  space  from  bottom  and  then  turning 
sharply  into  the  horizontal.  The  down-stroke  should  in- 
tersect the  horizontal  in  such  manner  as  to  leave  3-5  of  the 
horizontal  to  the  left  of  the  down-stroke.  The  ••  7  "  is  l)est 
formed  with  one  stroke,  the  down-stroke  l>eing  on  an 
angle  of  45°.  The  "  3  "  should  be  drawn  in  one  stroke, 
beginning  as  with  the  "  7  "  to  a  point  a  little  below  the  top 
of  the  third  space,  and  then  curving  into  a  portion  of  an 
ellipse,  with  an  axial  angle  of  45°.  Another  type  of  the 
numeral  "  3  "  is  shown, 
which  can  be  made  in  one 
stroke  also. 

The     "o"  Fig.     19,  Fig.  19. 

ought  to  be  a  perfect  ellipse,  like  the  capital  "  O."  The 
••  5  "  is  commenced  with  the  down  stroke,  ending  in  the 
ellipse  of  the  "  3  "  and  the  horizontal  upper  stroke.  The 
••  2  "  can  be  constructed  by  one  stroke,  beginning  at  tin- 
top  6ffce  fourth  space,  nearly  completing  an  oval  with 
an  axial  angle  of  45°,  and  then  turning  shortly  into  .1 
down-stroke  running  into  the  base  line,  where  a  sharp 


22(2)  5> 


turn  is  made  in  a  horizontal  direction.  The  "  6,"  Fig. 
20,  is  commenced  like  the  "  o,"  except  that  its  initial  point 
is  somewhat  beyond  the  axis  of  the  ellipse.  For  that  rea- 
son the  first  stroke  is  very  -  >-...,>.,  fit  <  n\  si  -n\ 

...        , y 
short,  curving  to  the  right;  the       •'-'"'  -.',*"• 

second  stroke  decends  nearly   —    *&*      jjffi" 
to  the  base,  where  a  stop  is  Fig.  20. 

made,  and  the  pen  then  returns  in  the  same  stroke, 
and,  gradually  turning  to  the  right,  nearly  completes  an 
ellipse  with  an  axial  angle  of  45°,  joining  its  lower  part 
with  the  bottom  of  the  incomplete  second  stroke.  The 
figure  "  8  "  is  commenced  with  an  ogee  curve,  using  a 
slight  crook  at  its  lower  end,  and  is  finished  by  two  other 
curves,  as  shown.  The  lower  loop  should  always  be 
somewhat  larger  than  the  upper  one.  The  numeral  "  9  " 
is  made  in  two  strokes.  The  ellipse  at  the  top  is  nearly 
finished  in  one  stroke  when  the  down-stroke  is  assumed, 
which,  beginning  at  the  initial  point  of  the  ellipse  and 
completing  the  letter,  terminates  with  a  somewhat  fuller 
curve  then  that  employed  in  lower  case  "  g." 

Though  Roman  numerals  are  seldom  employed  on 
working  drawings,  they  may  sometimes  be  required. 
The  chief  requisite  is  to  so  form  them  that  they  are  neat 


in  appearance  and  easily  distinguished  from  the  rest  of 
the  text.  They  should  be  of  the  same  height  as  the 
Arabic  numerals,  and 


w 


tU 


short  horizontal  strokes 

should    be     used    with  Fig.  21. 

them,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  21. 

In  the  modified  forms  shown  in  Fig.  22   it  will  be 
noticed  that  all  the  letters  and  numerals  are  based  upon 

» 

the  general  form  of  the  letter  "  o,"  modified  to  suit  de- 
mands.    The  second  stroke  of  the  "  r  "  is  really  a  part 
____________     of  the  elementary  ellipse,  as  are  also 

the  second  stroke  of  the  "  n  "  and 
the  second  and  third  strokes  of  the 
'•  in."  The  "u"  is  here  made  in 
two  strokes  —  the  first,  a  down-stroke 
with  the  curve  attached,  and  the 


Fig.  22. 


second  a  straight  down-stroke,  tangent  to  and  touching 
the  curve. 

The  numerals  follow  similar  lines  of  construction. 
The  "  2  "  begins  at  the  upper  part  in  an  ellipse  and  ends 
in  a  clown-stroke,  laid  at  an  angle  of  45°,  turning  sharply 
to  the  right  in  a  horizontal  line.  The  "  3  "  is  formed 
with  one  stroke,  with  its  lower  curve,  as  also  that  of  the 


••  5  '"and  •  o,    encircling  somewhat  more  than  half  of  the         the  curved  down-strokes  only  tangent  to  the    respei  ti\- 
ellipse.     In  the  "  6  "  and  "  9  "  care  must  be  taken  to  have         ellipses  and  not  cutting  off  a  portion  of  the  latter. 


UPRIGHT     LETTERING. 


Upright  lettering  is  employed  most  advantageously 
tin-  reference  letters,  designating  lines  of  section,  and 
for  raptions.  In  some  instances  however,  it  may  !»• 
deemed  advisable  to  use  uprights  also  for  such  descrip- 
tive matter,  dimensions,  etc.,  to  which  some  prominence 
is  to  be  given,  though,  as  a  rule,  the  slanting  lettering 
will  answer  this  purpose  very  well. 

The  relative  height  of  the  letters  ought  to  remain 
the  same  as  that  of  the  inclined  lettering.  The  down- 
strokes  should  be  perfectly  vertical,  and  in  order  to  pro- 
duce this  effect  properly,  it  will  be  best  for  the  beginner 
to  form  the  habit  of  making  the  letters  at  first  lean  o\er 
somewhat  to  the  left  at  the  top,  as  the  natural  tendency 
would  be  to  have  them  lean  the  opposite  way.  It  will 


lie  noticed  that  in  some  of  the  uprights  a  comparatively 
greater  number  of  strokes  is  required,  as  many  portions  of 
these  letters  are  being  executed  in  a  horizontal  direction 
or  nearly  so.  The  letters  are  again  simplified  as  much 
as  possible,  a  fact  which  will  IK:  especially  noticeable  in 
the  lower  case  ••  a  "  and  "  g,"  which,  though  at  variance 
with  the  ordinary  gothic  print,  look  fully  as  well. 

Lower  Case  Letters. 

In  the  letters  shown  in  l;ig.  23,  the  same  number 
of  strokes  is  employed  as  in  the  slanting  lettering  pre- 
viously descrilxxl.  The  letters  are  as  a  rule  made  wider 
than  those  of  the  slanting  tyi>e.  The  second  stroke  of 


.^SELHWU?^ 

r  TH*  \ 

JIVERSITT) 

9f  S 


the  "  n  "  and  the  two  last  strokes  of  the  letter  "  m  "  are 
started  with  a  very  slight  curve  in  an  upward  direction 
rounding  off  the  corner  at  the  top,  making  it  somewhat 
more  full  than  in  the  corresponding  slanting  letters. 
The  letter  "  u  "  — — -^ -— — — — — — - 


is  made  in   three    "1'W  ' 
strokes  as    usual,  ^fe  M^ 
connecting  the  Fig   28. 

two  down-strokes  with  a  well  shaped  curve.  If  preferred, 
however,  the  ordinary  form  of  gothic  lower  case  "  u,  "  as 
shown,  may  also  be  employed.  In  constructing  the 
letter  "  v,"  the  two  slanting  strokes  ought  to  make  the 
same  angle  with  the  vertical.  The  beginner  will  in- 
variably construct  the  second  stroke  at  a  greater  incline 
than  the  first,  and  will  do  well  to  guard  against  this 
habit,  until  after  some  practice  the  hand  will  become 
accustomed  to  form  the  point  of  juncture  of  the  two 
strokes  equidistant  from  their  starting  point.  The  letter 
"w"is  composed  practically  of  two  somewhat  narrowed 
"  v"s. 

The  letter  "  1 "  (Fig.  24)  is  sometimes  constructed 
with  a  lower  crook  to  the  right,  when  used  at  the  side  of 
capital  letter  "  I,"  otherwise  it  is  made  as  a  down  stroke 


i_r_vV- 


pure  and  simple.  The  second  stroke  of  the  "r"  starts 
from  the  top  of  the  second  space  upwards  as  a  very 
slight  curve,  similar  to  the  one  forming  first  part  of  the 
second  stroke  of  letter  "  n.  "  Letter  "  f"  is  best  formed 
by  three  strokes ;  the  first  a  very  short  curve  to  the 
right,  being  joined  by  the  second  or  main  stroke.  The 
horizontal  third 
stroke  should  be 
made  sufficient-  Fig.  24. 

ly  prominent.  The  letter  "  j  "  ought  to  extend  two  spaces 
below  the  base  line  and  should  be  made  in  one  stroke, 
being  perfectly  straight  until  the  point  of  curve  is 
reached.  If  found  easier,  however,  a  second  right  hand 
stroke,  forming  the  curved  portion,  may  be  employed. 
The  latter  should  be  almost  a  semicircle  and  one  space 
high. 

The    second    stroke 
ofletter  »  k  "  (Fig.  25) 

,    e     I  j-US—  -  -2  ":    --  should  extend  clown  to 
-    '  a   -       ft   JJ  E  nearly   the  first  space. 

F'g-   25-  The    third  stroke  be- 

gins at  about  the  centre  of  the  second  one.  The  letter 
•'  x "  is  constructed  with  two  strokes,  making  the  first 


10 


FOftNl*. 


one  apparently  more  inclined  than  necessary  for  reasons 
explained  ;i!)ovi:.  \\'hen  the  pen  is  very  full,  the  second 
stroke  ma\  In-  made  in  two  parts,  as  shown,  thereby 
preventing  tin-  forming  of  a  clot  of  ink  at  the  intersection 
•  •I"  those  two  strokes.  The  upper  part  of  letter  "y" 
forms  a  perfect  "  v.  "  The  second  stroke  may  either  be 
uted  with  a  slight  angle  terminating  in  a  vertical 
direction,  or  in  a  perfectly  straight  inclined  line,  according 
to  the  draftsman's  individual  taste.  Letter  ••/"  is  as 
usual  formed  in  one  stroke  ;  its  starting  point  should 
he  vertically  above  the  point  of  turning  into  the  hori/ontal. 
The  ellipses  of  the  letters  shown  in  Fig.  26.  are  as 
usual  constructed  in  two  strokes,  joining  the  respective 
initial  and  terminal  _ 

points  carefully.    The    O    (Q  0)~C:1"(QQ)  d  (.u)  Q(Q) 

first  curve  starts  in  an      i^ji  d/ 

.  .      .          ...        -O;         ^fl1          iQr         ;Q\- 

almost   horizontal  di-  =  --:' 

rection    towards    the  Fig.  26. 

left  and  terminates  similarly  at  the  right,  thus  prevent- 
ing the  forming  of  a  point  at  the  top  and  bottom 
junctures.  The  second  (right  hand)  stroke  of  the  ellipse 
ought  to  be  made  apparently  more  curved  than  necessary, 
as  that  portion  is  invariably  made  too  flat  by  the  beginner. 


The  ellipses  should  be  made  quite  full.  The  vertical  down- 
strokes  of  letters  "a,"  "d"  and  "g"  ought  to  run  tan- 
gent to  their  ellipses  so  that  the  thickness  of  the  second 
curve  at  the  joint  of  juncture  is  not  increased.  Tin- 
curved  portion  or  the  fourth  stroke  of  letter  "g"  extends 
to  the  left  almost  or  nearly  the  full  width  of  the  oval  of 
this  lettn. 

The  mode  of  construction  of  letters  ••  q."  ••  p  "  and  "  1>" 
(Fig.  27)  offers  no  novel    features.      If   the   pen.    while 

rounding  in  the  lower  part 

of  the  curve  of  letters -p"     q  (q)    p(pp)  bibb) 
and  "  b,"  should  contain  too 


much  ink,  the  curve  may  be 
completed  by  a  third  stroke,  ^'2-  27- 

running  in  an  opposite  direction,  as  shown,  ;is  in  turning 
into  the  lower  portion  of  the  curve  a  somewhat  greater 
pressure  is  involuntarily  brought  upon  the  pen.  result- 
ing, if  too  full,  in  a  badly  proportioned  lower  end. 

Letters  "c  "  and  "s"  (Fig.  28)  are  started  with  a  short 
curve  towards  the  right;  the  upper  end  of  letter  "c" 
should  be  slightly  more  curved  than  the  lower  one  ;  still, 
the  form  of  the  perfect  oval  should  be  predominant  in  this 
letter.  The  letter  -e"  is  constructed  in  three  strol. 


11 


If,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  the  upper  part  of  letters  "  c  " 
and  "  e  "  should  not  precisely  fill  the  allotted  space,  or 
otherwise  they  should  appear  too  narrow,  a  flattening 

^  .-.  .-.   /~  Q\     .-.  i.-  r\=  °f  tne  l°wer  portions 

I  of  the  curve,  making 

JiCL    G'  :    iQ?  p  ;          ^    S   .  =  those    letters    appear 
Fig.  28.  leaning  backward,  will 

help  matters  and  otherwise  not  at  all  injure  their  appear- 
ance, as  shown.  The  completed  ovals  of  letter  "s" 
should,  as  in  the  inclined  one,  form  a  perfect  figure  "  8." 
If  at  all  uneven,  the  lower  oval  should  be  made  more 
prominent  than  the  upper  one. 

Capital  Letters. 

Upright  capitals  are,  as  a  rule,  5  spaces  high,  with  the 
exception  of  the  "  Q,"  the  appendix  of  which  ought  to 
reach  one  space  below  the  base  line.  These  letters 
should  be  made  narrower  in  proportion  than  the  cor- 
responding lower  case  letters. 

The  second  stroke  of  letter  "A"  (Fig.  29),  should 
be  made  rather  more  inclined  than  the  first  one  by 
the  beginner.  The  first  strokes  of  letters  "  E "  and 


A    A) 


m 


jgi 


"  F  "  must  be  made  perfectly  vertical  or  leaning  back- 
wards, as  even  the  slighest  inclination  forward  in  these 
two  letters  will  be  painfully  noticeable,  especially  in  the 
"  F."  The  length  of  the  short  third  stroke  in  the  "  F," 
is  generally  depending  on  the  shape  of  the  succeeding 

-. ,—,-.     (lower  case)  letter ; 

/  i     /rtn    \ 

shorter,  if  the  latter 
$ ;          begins  with  a  verti- 
Fig.  29.  ,       cal  stroke,  longer, 

if  an  oval  or  inclined  stroke  is  to  follow.  We  will  not 
attempt,  however,  to  lay  down  any  definite  rule  on  this 
point,  as  the  determining  factor  in  each  case  should  be 
the  draftsman's  eye  and  good  taste.  Letter  "  Z "  is 
best  formed  in  one  stroke,  care  being  taken  to  make 
especially  the  inclined  portion  perfectly  straight. 

The  letters  comprising  Fig.  30  are  constructed  upon 
nearly  the  same  principles  given  in  the  case  of  the 
corresponding  slanting  capital  letters.  The  termination 
of  the  last  stroke  of 

letter  "  K      should  _      ,U|..  a^       ,      ,  »          __^ 

in  a  well  formed  let-          "»    =      »4    :  *fl  iV- 

ter  be  vertically  be-  Fig.  30. 

low  the  initial  point  of  the  second  stroke.     The  length  of 


tin-  horizontal  portion  of  thr  "  I."  is  again,  as  ii.  the  case 
of  the  ••  I-"."  determined  by  the  succeeding  (lower  case) 
letter.  It  is  ohvious,  that  by  unduly  lengthening  that 
portion  of  the  letter,  an  unproportionally  wide  space 
will  result  between  its  vertical  part  and  the  succeeding 
letter. 

The  curved  part  of  letter  "  J  "  (Fig.  31)  ought  to  be  a 
well  shaped  semicircle,  beginning  and  ending  not  above 
the  middle  of  the  second  space.  The  second  and  third 
strokes  of  letter  "  M  "  converge  at  the  second  line,  and 
this  point  should,  of  course,  be  at  an  even  distance  from 
the  vertical  strol. 


J  U) 


ru  N 


To  attain  this  end 

exactlysomedrafts- 

men    will    perhaps  Fig.  31. 

find    it   easier  to  put  in  the  two  verticals  first  and  the 

oblique  strokes  afterwards,  as  in  the  construction  of  the 

letter  ••  NY      The  angles   in  those  two  letters  should  be 

sharply  defined,  the  strokes  forming  them    ending  in  a 

clearly  cut,  though  somewhat  blunt  point.     The    second 

horizontal    stroke  of    letter    "  T  "    ought  to   be    evenly 

balanced  upon  the  main  or  down -stroke. 

The   construction   of  the  letters  shown  in  Fig.  32   is 


chiefly  guided  by  the  principle   that  the  rate  of  inclina- 
tion of  the  slanting  strokes  should  be  uniform  in  each 


care  should  be  taken 
that   only  the  center  Fig.   32. 

lines  of  the  inclined  strokes  join  at  the  base  or  top 
lines  of  the  ruling,  thus  avoiding  two  extremes,  either 
the  formation  of  a  vertical  short  end  or  the  reverse,  a 
riattened-out  point.  This  is  made  apparent  in  the 
small  illustration,  Fig.  320.  The 
first  and  fourth  strokes  of  letter 
•  \Y  '  ought  theoretically  to  be  made 
Fig  32«  parallel  to  the  second  and  third  ; 

but  as  the  latter  two  strokes  are  involuntarily  made 
more  uprighi  than  the  first  one,  the  fourth  stroke  should 
again  be  made  more  slanting  to  correspond  with  the  first. 
The  reverse  mode  of  procedure  would  result  in  a  badly 
shaped  letter,  as  shown  alongside.  Litter  "X"  is 
usually  made  in  two  strokes,  or,  if  preferable,  a  stop  may 
be  made  in  the  second  stroke  shortly  before  crossing  the 
first,  continuing  it  on  the  other  side,  avoiding  thus  the 
forming  of  a  lump  of  ink  at  the  point  of  intersection. 


13 


The  two  inclined  parts  of  letter  "  Y  "  should  join  on  the 

top  of  the  second  space  ;  from  these  the  second  stroke 

is  continued  in  a  vertical  direction  down  to  the  base  line. 

Letter  "  P  "   (Fig.  33)  is  constructed  in  two  strokes, 

_      „„     _      „    „     .       „  *he    secon<l 

begin- 

^f^  ning  at  the 
top  of  the 
nrst,  care- 


F"'g- 33- 


fully  rounding  the  curve  and  joining  the  first  stroke  again 
at  right  angles  as  a  perfectly  straight  line.  The  thiid 
stroke  of  letter  "  B  "  begins  at  the  point  of  curve  of  the 
second,  enclosing  j^lightly  larger  area  than  the  second 
one.  The  second  stroke  of  letter  "  D  ^  should  begin 
and  terminate  in  a  horizontal  direction.  If  a  slight 
"  sa»gm»  "  should  happen  in  the  curve,  it  ought  to  be 
near  its  lower  portion.  The  rule  given  for  the  forming 
of  the  second  stroke  of  letter  "  B  "  applies  also  to  letter 
"  R  ;"  its  third  inclined  stroke  begins  at  the  point  of 
curve  of  the  second.  The  two  vertical  strokes  of  letter 
"  U"  are  made  first  ;  a  right  hand  carefully  formed  semi- 
circular curve  connects  the  two. 

Letter  "  C  "  (Fig.  34)  is  made  with  two  strokes,  and  is 


simply  a  repetition  of  the  lower  case    letter,  relatively 
narrower.     The  second  stroke  of  letter  "  G  "  follows  the 

.  outline      of 
:the  oval  up- 
=  wards  near- 
ly a  space ; 
there  a  short 


Fig    34- 


stop  is  made  and  the  pen  point  is  carefully  pushed  up- 
wards in  a  vertical  direction,  terminating  that  stroke  as 
shown.  The  final  horizontal  stroke  should  not  be  made 
too  short.  To  those  who  might  find  it  difficult  to  exe- 
cute the  second  stroke  neatly  in  the  way  outlined  the 
suggestion  of  a  separate  vertical  downward  stroke  is 
made.  The  mode  of  construction  of  the  ovals  of  the 
"  O  "  and  "  Q  "  differ  somewhat  from  that  of  the  lower 
case  letters  ;  the  point  of  juncture  is  shifted  diagonally  in 
order  to  lessen  the  chance  of  a  point  forming  at  the  top 
and  bottom  of  the  oval.  The  third  stroke  of  letter 
"  Q  "  begins  as  shown  and  extends  one  space  below. 
The  second  stroke  of  letter  ••  S  "  should  for  a  very  short 
space  run  perfectly  horizontal.  The  rules  given  for  the 
forming  of  the  lower  case  letter  otherwise  apply  to  this 
letter  also. 


Numerals. 

Upright  numerals  ought  to  he  like  the  inclined  ones, 
five  spares  high.  Figure  "  i  "  may  again,  if  used  in 
proximity  with  rapital  letter  ••  1  "  or  lowercase  ••  1,"  l>e 

constructed      with  .    «     —jr  i  i\    ==^i    i  -y\       r%    ynsp= 
,  v, ,v  sl,,,n    ,„, 

stroke.      Numeral   — i—     -Q  f  =f=       da    ^^= 

"  4 "     is      started  Fig.  35. 

with  a  perfectly  straight  inclined  downstroke,  as  shown, 
whence  it  assumes  a  horizontal  direction.  The  rule  given 
above  and  illustrated  by  Fig.  320  on  the  forming  of  a  clear 
cut  angle,  applies  to  the  top  part  of  this  figure  especially. 
The  lower  terminal  point  of  numeral  "  7  "  should,  in  a 
perfectly  formed  figure,  be  vertically  below  the  center  of 
the  horizontal  portion.  The  upper  part  of  numeral  "  2  '' 
ought  to  form  portion  of  a  flattened  oval.  The  mode  of 
its  construction  is  clearly  shown  in  the  illustration,  Fig.  ^5. 
Numeral  "  5  "  (Fig.  36)  begins  with  a  vertical  stroke 
to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  third  space  ;  from  there 
the  stroke  follows  the  outline  of  the  oval,  which  is  to  be 
three  spaces  high.  The  middle  portion  of  the  second 


stroke    of   numeral    "  6 "    ought    to    follow  the    vertical 
direction  a  short  dist- 


ance, as  the  general  ~ 
tendency  in  construct- 
ing this  figure  is  to  Fig.  36- 
have  that  part  too  much  curved.  The  third  stroke 
ought  to  enclose  a  perfect  ellipse.  Numeral  "8"  is 
formed  in  three  strokes  ;  its  first  a  well-shaped  ogee 
curve,  with  its  middle  portion  running  very  nearly- 
horizontal.  The  first  stroke  of  numeral  "9"  ought  t<> 
be  part  of  a  perfect  ellipse  and  comprising  as  it  does, 
nearly  two-thirds  of  its  circumference,  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  construct.  The  middle  portion  of  the  second 
stroke  should  for  a  short  distance,  run  almost  vertical. 

The   upright 
A.      Roman  numerals. 
Fig.  37.  Hkr-  37,  are  con- 

structed, analogous  to  the  inclined  on3L  with  upper 
and  lower  short  horizontal  strokes.  Aim:- 'explaining 
the  mode  of  forming  of  capital  letters  "V"  and  "  N," 
nothing  new  can  be  said  concerning  these,  except  that  as 
a  general  rule  it  will  be  well  to  make  them  a  trifle 
narrower  in  proportion. 


1    11   I 


V    VI  VII  Vffl 


Extended  Form  of  Upright  Lettering. 

In  the  following  illustration,  Fig.  38,  the  upright  letter-       .  jbr  the  construction  of  some  of  those  letters  a  compara- 
ing  is  shown  in  extended  form.     It  will  be  noticed  that         lively  greater  number  of  strokes  is  required.     The  axes 


C 


"" 


Fig.   38. 


Itj 


Freehand  Lettering  applied   to  Working 
Drawings. 

Lettering  as  applied  to  working  drawings,  should  be 
bold,  clear  and  uniform  in  size,  with  the  exception  of  the 
sub-caption,s  which  may  be  a  trifle  larger.  Diminutive 
and  cramped  lettering  on  a  drawing  will  never  look  well. 


of  the  ellipses  lie  in  a  horizontal  direction  in  every  case.         of  lettering  composing  a   sentence,  for  instance,  should 
and  it  will  be  well  to  shape  parts  of  the  curves,  composing         be   placed  rather  close. 
them,  decidedly  Hat,  sometimes  going  to  the  extreme  to 
have  the  top   and  bottom  parts  of  the  ellipses  running 
perfectly  straight  for  a  certain  distance. 

The  complete  alphabets  of  the   slanting    and  upright 
type    are    shown    in    plate   I.,  together  with  samples  of 
lettering    as   used  on   working    drawings.       The    single 
letters,  composing  a  word,  should,  especially  in  slanting 
lettering,  be  placed  as  close  as  possible,  so  close,  in  fact, 
that  they  sometimes  nearly  touch   each  other.     If  this 
principle    is   followed  out   at    first,  the 
golden    middle   governing  the  spacing 
of  letters  will  soon  prevail.  The  beginner     1,1''')')"  j;ypi.  L  <;?;;• 
generally  spaces  his  letters  too  far  apart,   ^.""f^fl      1 
Sufficient  space  should  be   allotted  be-  . 
tweeii  different  words. 

In  expressing  tractions,  the  accepted 
custom  is  to  place  a  horizontal  dash 
between  numerator  and  denominator, 
excepting  the  instance  when  numeral 
••4"  happens  to  be  the  latter,  in  which  case,  for  obvious  If  possible,  the  lettering  should  be  kept  distinctly  by 
reasons,  a  slanting  dash  is  employed?  The  several  lines  itself  and  never  be  allowed  to  run  across  lines.  If  some 


• 


<-r  *, 

r>'t.' 

P«  C  v 


' 


f     :    .        - 


Ewi.Nlwa. 


Expansion  Joints. 


17 


Cbortf' 


words  can  not  be  put  on  the  object  itself,  which  they  are  angle  be  smaller,  one  should  then  be  enabled  to  read 
intended  to  describe,  they  should,  be  boldly  placed  out-  it  from  the  lower  right  hand  corner,  as  Fig.  43  demon- 
side,  and  a  dotted 
reference  line  with 
arrow  head  pointing 
to  the  subject  attach- 
ed, as  shown  espec- 
ially in  Figs.  39,  40 
and  41.  The  letter- 
ing should  be  placed 
so  as  to  read  from 
the  base  and  right- 
hand  side  of  the 
sheet,  that  is  to  say, 
lettering  running  at 
an  angle  of  90°  to 
the  base  line  should 
be  made  to  read 
from  the  right  hand 
side,  if  at  a  greater 


-7*&*?J'W 

•rs.   ff.e-il"*  *'4k"  ,  „ 
:T*f>fc2,  B2/"*i''*2* 
•  izf-trffi" 


Details  of  Long  Raising  Girder 
and  Truss  Connection. 


^op <oi 'Drum 


strates. 

Dimensions  should 
be  placed  between, 
**/?<**»;«!***  not  on  top,  of  dimen- 
sion lines,  and  an  ap- 
propriate space  left 
open  while  drawing 
.  -£  those.  If  the  space 
-J  allotted  fora  dimen- 
sion is  too  small  to 
place  the  same  com- 
fortably between 
arrow  heads,  the  fig- 
ures should  be  writ- 
ten outside,  parallel 
to  dimension  line, 
and  reference  line 
used.  Arrow  heads 


Cross  Section. 


Fig.  40. 

angle,  its  base  should  be  reversed  in  such  a  way  that   it         should    be    bold,    with    even     sides,    the     two    strokes 
can  be    read  from  the    lower    left  hand  corner;    if  the          composing  them  tapering  in   thickness  from  the  point; 


18 


"lopsided"  arrowheads  should  be  avoided.  Notes  of  the  two  alphabets  above  described,  are  employed, 
referring  to  drawings  should  run  parallel  to  base  of  Letters  relating  to  rivers  and  railway  lines  should  be 
sheet  and  be  used  as  "fillers."  placed  parallel  to  those  objects.  Otherwise  lettering 


Sflfl.X-.f 


Fig.  41. 

In    Fig.  42  and   Plate  II.  lettering  as  used  on  sketch         in  straight  lines  is  resorted  to.     If  this  should,  however, 
maps  is  shown.      Here  four  distinctive  styles,  composed         be  impracticable,  lettering  on  neat  curves  is  used. 


19 


VARIOUS    FREEHAND    ALPHABETS. 


The  principles  of  construction  of  the  shaded  inclined  into  curves,  is  gradually  released  at  the  proper  moment. 
(Italic)  lettering,  shown  on  Plate  III.,  which  is  occasion-  In  shading  letters  "S"  and  numeral^  "2,"  "7  "  and" 8" 
ally  used  on  working  drawings  and  maps,  are  practically  the  pen  has  to  outline  and  shade  the  curves  at  the 


the  same  as  given 
for  the  ordinary 
slanting  lettering. 
The  relative  height 
of  letters  and  incli- 
nation of  down- 
stroke  remain  un- 
changed. A  fairly 
fine  pointed,  rather 
flexible  pen  should 
be  used,  for  inst- 
ance, Gillott's  No. 


Fig.  42. 


same  time,  necessi- 
tating a  slight  turn- 
ing motion  of  the 
holder,  to  the  be- 
ginner a  somewhat 
delicate  operation 
at  first.  It  will  be 
noticed,  that  every 
second  row  in  the 
upper  portion  of 
this  plate  is  de- 
voted to  demon- 


503.    The  lower  case  letters  are  very  much  like  common          strating    the     proper  method    of    forming    each    letter 


English  shaded  script.     The  shading  is  produced  by  an 
even   pressure   exerted  upon  the  pen,  which  in  turning 


and     the    sequence     of    strokes.     After   all     that    has 
been  said  about  slanting  lettering  in  general,  no  trouble 


will     be    experienced    in     lonstructing     these     letters         is   in  fact  only  a  modification  of  the  ordinary  upright 
satisfactorily.  freehand  letterings,  and  used  as  a  part  of  title,    looks 

When  reduced  considerably,  Italic  lettering,  as  a  rule, 
does  not  show  up  so  well  as  the  same  size  of  the  ordi- 
nary slanting  type  described  before,  the  light  lines  in 
that  case  dropping  out,  leaving  only  the  shaded  portions 
visible. 


" 

E * 


^ I       -  -    ,          —  I J 


•./  •• 


Half       Side       Elevation . 

Fig.  43. 
The  type  of  lettering  shown  in  lower  part  of  Plate  III,         very  well  when  used  with  the  black  faced  Gothic  letter- 


-.'i 


ing,  shown  on  Plate  V.  As  is  known  to  every  draftsman, 
a  lump  of  ink  is  apt  to  form  at  the  end  of  a  straight 
stroke,  when  the  pen  is  fairly  full.  This  propensity  of 
the  ink  is  made  use  of  in  constructing  this  type  of 
lettering  and  the  flow  of  ink  thus  diverted.  The  rela- 
tive number  of  strokes  remains  the  same,  as  with  the 
ordinary  uprights.  A  few  modifications  are  introduced 
in  the  shape  of  lower  case  "a"  and  "g."  This  lettering 
is  best  produced  with  a  ball  point  pen,  insuring  a  stroke 
of  almost  uniform  strength.  As  a  precaution,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  pen  should  never  be  too  full  while  mak- 
ing this  type  of  lettering. 

Plates  IV.  to  VII.  inclusive,  contain  Freehand  Letter- 
ing suitable  for  main  titles,  which  may  easily  be  con- 
structed by  dividing  the  space  to  be  lettered  into  squares 
and  sketching  in  the  letters  in  outline  afterwards  as 
shown  ;  on  tracing  linen,  cross-section  paper  may  of 
course  be  used  for  this  purpose.  A  draftsman  able  to 
satisfactorily  construct  the  upright  lettering,  the  prin- 
ciples of  which  have  been  exhaustively  explained 
in  the  foregoing,  will  experience  no  trouble  whatever 
in  sketching  these  letters  in  good  shape.  As  shown, 
the  relative  height  of  lower  case  and  capital  let- 


ters remain  unchanged  ;  the  width  of  the  body  of  the 
capital  may  be  taken  as  4-5,  in  some  cases  7-8,  that  of  the 
lower  case  letters  as  3-5  the  width  of  a  square.  On  Plates 
IV  and  V  suggestions  are  made  as  to  several  methods 
of  shading  these  letters,  although,  as  a  rule,  they  look 
very  well  without  it.  If,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  drafts- 
man should  desire  more  ornamental  letters,  he  will  be 
able  by  the  aid  of  his  eye  and  the  exercise  of  some  good 
taste,  to  devolve  the  letters  desired  out  of  the  types 
given.  It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that  a 
title,  composed  of  highly  ornamented  letters,  does  not 
make  up  for  any  poorly  drawn  and  lettered  .sheet  to 
which  it  may  be  attached,  but  on  the  other  hand,  a 
simple  title,  constructed  of  well  executed  letters  of  reason- 
able size,  with  the  several  lines  composing  it  well 
centered,  will  make  an  ample  heading  for  any  well  exe- 
cuted drawing. 

The   writer  would    not  consider  this    work    complete 
without  giving  passing  notice  to 

Round  Writing, 

the  principles  of  which  are  shown  on  Plate  VIII.  For 
the  production  of  this  kind  of  lettering  regular  round 


••• 


PLATE 


a  b  c  d  c  f  g  h  ijkl?nnopc/rstiivwxyz 
//  tftftftf  /'"#/  K  ij  M  I  m  wttpty  t*  sff  vrum  %  Hf 
A  BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPURSTUVWXYZ 


Freehand  7  J  $#.$& %  |- j;  '"'  Printing 

/Shaded  Inclined  (Italic)  Lettering,  Used  for  Working  Drawings. 

a  bcdefg  hij   klmnopqrstuvwxyz 
ABCDEFG  HIJKLMNOFQRSTUVWXYZ 

123456789  10. 
Freehand  Lettering  for  Captions,  Produced  very  Fast. 

THROUGH  PASSENGER  SERVICED  etc. 


PLATE  III. 


OF  THE 


€'v  , 
IVERSlTYy 
S 


writing  pens  are  used,  although  very  satisfactory  letter-  is  exhibited.     It  explains  in  short  how  not  to  do  it,  and 

ing  of  this  type  can  be  produced  with  goose-quills  cut  by  shows  the  draftsman's  lack  of  practice  in  freehand  work, 

the  draftsman,  and  the  writer  even  yet  prefers  the  latter.  while    relying    solely  upon   his  skill  with  bow  pea  and 

In  Fig.  44  an  actual  facsimile  of  a  title  once  met  with,  ruling  pen. 


NOJO 

END  AND  SECTIONAL,  VIEW 

OF 

EUREKA  ORDERS 


LONGITUDINAL    SECTION 

Fig    44. 


PLATE  IV. 


PLATE   V 


OF  THE 


PLATE  VII 


,  \  a/  '• 

b  &/  &  £   W  fy   ^  ^  /^/  ™  AW/W  O  AO  AX  AS 

/v  /w  W/VX/TL'.  1  2/  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  1C-,  &.  *c«^  1 

|^?S9  ^   ^  S  ci   ^F  S  3t  3   J   ^|   3C 

L'       U 

si-  e  §  &  51  ^  <r  ^  ^  ^  a 


*>v  1892/. 

:va  u- .- 


i-z&  of 
&X9&  tetter 


/fc^  /fatten  /fi 


PLATE  VIII. 


PLATE    IX. 
Cross  Section,   Millimeters 


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YE  01979 


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